Paradise Road To Hell: From Penmaenmawr to the Front

A powerful, meticulously researched tribute to the forgotten heroes of the Great War.

The names engraved on war memorials tell us who was lost, but they rarely tell the deeply human stories behind them.

Paradise Road to Hell traces the lives of young men from the North Wales town of Penmaenmawr and the adjoining village of Dwygyfylchi who answered the call to serve during the First World War. At the very heart of this history is the remarkable story of Lance Corporal John Richard Roberts MM of the 14th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers. His extraordinary courage at the infamous Mametz Wood earned him the Military Medal, before his life was tragically cut short during a German trench raid in the Ypres Salient in February 1917.

Drawing directly on official battalion war diaries, service records, original trench maps, and contemporary newspapers, this book brings together almost five years of extensive archival research. It pieces together the fragments of the past to tell the raw story of one close-knit community's profound sacrifice.

Inside this comprehensive history, you will discover:

• Unveiled Personal Histories: The real lives, occupations, and family ties behind the names on local North Wales memorials.
• Frontline Military Operations: A detailed look at the movement of the 14th Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, including the brutal actions at Mametz Wood and the Ypres Salient.
• Rich Archival Records: Insightful integration of historic documents, trench maps, and local newspapers that bring the era to life.

Paradise Road to Hell goes beyond simple statistics to honour and preserve the memory of those who left the beauty of North Wales for the mud of the Western Front, and never returned.